Chapter 140: Hannah

The children looked up in unison at the sound of a voice. One little boy gasped, "Alpha Drake!"

There he was: Drake, standing against a nearby wall, hands in his pockets, a grin on his face. He pushed off the wall and approached.

"Hannah," he said, stopping a few feet away. "I didn't expect to see you here."

I rose and wiped my hands on my pants. "I could say the same," I replied, moving a short distance with him for privacy, to avoid further exciting the children. "I wouldn't have guessed you'd be involved in something like this."

"Is it really so surprising?" Drake raised an eyebrow, his smile remaining. "I saw the advertisements and decided to contribute to the fundraising." He held up a bag of muffins.

I smiled. "That's very kind of you."

Drake shrugged, took a muffin, broke off a piece, and ate it. "I'm being selfish; I wanted a sweet breakfast. Want some?"

I shook my head. "Thank you, but I'm alright."

Drake nodded toward the children, busy making paper turkeys. "You're good with kids. Not that I'm surprised, after how you treated Adam at the acceptance ceremony."

"I love kids," I said, following his gaze. "They're innocent, untouched by decades of misery."

Drake cocked his head. "Spoken like an angsty teen," he teased.

Rolling my eyes, I waved him off. "I didn't mean it like that. It's nice to have a positive impact on children—to give them happy memories so the next generation can be better than we were."

Drake paused, considering my words before nodding. "Well, you're certainly doing a good job of that," he said. "With Adam, too; he loves that Optimus Prime toy you gave him. It's his favorite. I never thanked you on his behalf."

"Zoe's letting you see him?" I asked, tilting my head.

He shrugged, his eyes distant, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "Occasionally. Not enough."

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. I felt bad for him; he couldn't see his son as much as he liked. Someday, Noah might be in the same situation. But Noah deserved it, I told myself. He'd only see our child as a key to his lineage, anyway, and besides… if he was really sleeping with Zoe, I wasn't obligated to feel sorry for him. Not now, not ever.

"Well," I said, "he's with his grandparents right now."

Chapter 140 + 25 Bonus

Drake's eyebrows shot up. "He… why?" he blurted.

"You didn't know?"

"No," Drake said, slowly dropping a muffin back into the bag, his fingers suddenly slack. "What happened?"

"Nothing serious," I shrugged. "Zoe had her appendix out the other day. She sent Adam to stay with his grandparents while she recovers."

Drake's mouth opened and closed like a fish, his eyes darting. Hurt flashed across his face, followed by anger.

"And she wouldn't ask me to take him?" he growled. "His own father?"

I didn't know what to say. I hadn't expected him to be so hurt, but of course he'd be upset. If I were in his position, I would have been furious.

Finally, with a huff, he folded his arms. "You know, I really thought we might have been getting somewhere at that competition," he said softly. "I thought she was finally coming around. I guess I'll have to double my efforts."